Thunder-Rockets Preview

By KRISTIE RIEKENPosted Apr 26 2013 7:31PM

HOUSTON (AP) The Houston Rockets could be without starting point guard Jeremy Lin when they host the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 3 on Saturday night.

The Thunder definitely will be missing their point guard, with All-Star Russell Westbrook out indefinitely with a knee injury that will require surgery.

The Rockets hope Lin can return for the first playoff game in Houston since 2009. He missed practice on Friday due to a bruised chest muscle and is listed as day to day.

The Thunder lead the first-round series 2-0, but the injury to Westbrook, which occurred in the first half of Game 2, could change the complexion of the series. He averaged 24 points and 6 1/2 rebounds this postseason.

It's difficult to know just how Westbrook's absence will change the Thunder since he's never missed a game in his career. But it's probably safe to say superstar Kevin Durant, who is averaging 26.5 points in the series, will have to do even more than usual.

Durant said this will be his biggest challenge as the Thunder's leader.

"I've got faith in myself and our team," Durant said. "I know I can lead us. It's just a matter of me going out there and always being positive with the guys, always being encouraging ... I've been doing it all season. I've just got to rev it up a little bit more."

The Rockets expressed sadness at Westbrook's injury, but know his absence could benefit them.

"It can create a chance for us," Houston's Carlos Delfino said. "You never want anything bad to happen to people ... but we've got to win. If this creates a little window or opens the window a little more for us, that's welcome."

Westbrook, who has a lateral meniscus tear in his right knee, was hurt when rookie Patrick Beverley tried for a steal in the second quarter and ran into his knee.

The Rockets went with a new-look lineup in Game 2 that gave Beverley his first start. Some have questioned whether the play on Westbrook was dirty on Beverley's part, but he insisted he would never try to hurt anyone.

"It's definitely unfortunate," he said. "I was definitely looking forward to playing Westbrook again and to get to battle again."

Beverley gave the Rockets a spark in Game 2, scoring 16 points as Houston bounced back from a blowout loss in the first game, but still fell short in a 105-102 Thunder win.

He knows some blame him for the injury and are trash talking him on Twitter, but said he isn't bothered by it. Beverley has dealt with adversity most of his life. He grew up in a tough neighborhood and wasn't even in the NBA a few months ago, instead playing in Russia.

"It was just hard trying to go to school some mornings growing up, so I can live through some Twitter beef," he said. "I've been in incidents in Europe where guys throw quarters at my face and I've got blood gushing down, so I'm kind of used to it. It wasn't intentional, he knows that and I know that."

Houston coach Kevin McHale loves Beverley's intensity and said he's successful in part because he plays equally as hard whether it's practice or a playoff game.

"He's just a little fighter," McHale said. "That's what you've got to have in our league. If you're going to win the biggest of games, you either better be feisty and tough like he is or just ultra, ultra, ultra talented and be the most talented guy on the floor, and it's hard to be that guy."

The Rockets haven't said whether they'll go with the three-guard lineup that they used in Game 2 on Saturday. But James Harden is hoping they do, saying he believes it's their best lineup and allows them to push the tempo.

Harden, who spent his first three NBA seasons with the Thunder, was upset upon about Westbrook's injury.

"Sad, sad story," Harden said. "That's one of my friends and just to see him out injured when he hadn't missed a game all career is definitely sad."

Harden said Westbrook's being out "changes a lot" and called him the Thunder's engine. Then he raved about backup Reggie Jackson, who'll likely take over for Westbrook in the starting lineup. Jackson, who is in his second year, averaged 5.3 points in the regular season and 7.5 in the first two playoff games.

"Reggie is definitely not a pushover," Harden said. "He's very talented, athletic and he's always going to work on his jump shot. He's going to make plays because he's so athletic. We definitely can't take him lightly at all."

Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks wouldn't say if Jackson would start, but said he was definitely an option. The Thunder also have veteran guard Derek Fisher.

"Everybody's going to have to step up. That's the thing. Not one person," Brooks said. "Whoever I start, that's not going to be that person to play and be Russell Westbrook."

The Rockets are in the postseason after failing to qualify in the last three years. Guard Aaron Brooks is the only current player who was on the roster during Houston's last playoff trip.

McHale believes playing on the road first was a valuable experience for his team, and he's looking forward to seeing how his young team responds in front of what he expects to be an "electric" crowd.

"We're not a perfect team by any stretch of the imagination, but the guys will go out there and they'll fight you for it and that covers a lot of ground when you have guys that are willing to compete," he said.

Copyright 2013 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited

Thunder take 3-0 series lead with 104-101 win

By KRISTIE RIEKENPosted Apr 28 2013 1:58AM

HOUSTON (AP) Kevin Durant was in uncharted territory on Saturday night, playing in his first game without friend and teammate Russell Westbrook.

Durant knew it would be different, but vowed to do whatever he could to carry his team through this difficult period.

He delivered on that promise by scoring 41 points and helping Oklahoma City fight off Houston's late rally to beat the Rockets 104-101 for a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven playoff series.

"I didn't feel the same," Durant said. "And I knew I just had to give my all from here on out ... every game is for him."

Durant checked his phone moments after leaving the court and smiled recalling the text messages he received from Westbrook.

"He texted me at halftime and right after the game," Durant said. "Just said congrats and that he loved me."

Durant scored 27 points in the first half, and the Thunder led by 26 points before a big third-quarter rally by the Rockets put them within striking distance.

Houston regained the lead with about 4 minutes left, and was up with less than a minute remaining. But Durant hit a 3-pointer, which bounced off the rim before falling in, to put Oklahoma City on top 100-99.

"We didn't want to give up any 3s," Houston's James Harden said. "He just made a lucky shot. It was good defense. It just went in and took some of the energy out of us."

A turnover by Harden gave the Thunder the ball back and Derek Fisher made two free throws to push the lead to three. Harden made a layup, but Reggie Jackson hit two more free throws after that.

Houston had a last chance, but Carlos Delfino's 3-pointer fell short.

Thunder coach Scott Brooks was impressed that his team was able to win despite losing its All-Star point guard.

"It's been an emotional time the last 48 hours," Brooks said. "We all love what Russell (Westbrook) is about. He's got probably the biggest heart I've ever been around."

Fisher said it was difficult getting through these last couple of days, but the 16-year veteran said he was there to help the younger guys deal with the loss of Westbrook.

"We're still grieving, so to speak, as a team," Fisher said. "But that's why I'm here, and that's why this is a team. Injuries and bad things happen in sports, but we still have to figure out a way to get things done."

Harden scored 30 points for the Rockets in the first playoff game in Houston since 2009. The Rockets will be at home again for Game 4 on Monday night.

Westbrook was injured in Game 2 and had season-ending right knee surgery Saturday. It was the first time Durant had played a pro game without Westbrook, who hadn't missed a game in his career before Saturday.

Durant's 41 points equaled a playoff career high, and he also had 14 rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block. He sat down for just 44 seconds on Saturday.

"Kevin has done a great job of being a playmaker all season long," Brooks said. "He's an amazing scorer, and he sets up a lot of guys to get easy buckets."

Jackson made his first career start in place of Westbrook and had 14 points, and Serge Ibaka added 17 points and 11 rebounds.

Chandler Parsons had a tying 3-pointer for Houston with 5:46 left, and Delfino put the Rockets in front for the first time since early in the first quarter when he connected from long range to make it 94-93 about 2 minutes later.

Ibaka made four straight points after that, ending with a reverse layup, to make it 97-94 with about a minute and a half left.

Harden hit a pair of free throws. Then Francisco Garcia's 3-pointer put them up 99-97 with 45 seconds left, before the clutch shot by Durant.

The Rockets rallied from a 15-point deficit to take a lead in the fourth quarter in Game 2. But they weren't able to hold on and Oklahoma City got the 105-102 win.

It was much the same this time, as Houston went up late only to fall again.

"We've got to find a way to win those games," Houston coach Kevin McHale said.

Harden complained that he and his teammates were sluggish and lacked energy early. He knows that won't cut it if they expect to win on Monday.

"We have to have that energy from the beginning of the game to the end of the game," he said. "We can't have droughts. You have to play a solid game for 48 minutes."

Westbrook's absence didn't seem to bother Oklahoma City early, as Durant had the big first half and the Thunder looked to be in complete control.

Things changed in the third quarter when Durant was limited offensively and Houston outscored the Thunder 27-14 in the period.

Houston point guard Jeremy Lin, who bruised a chest muscle in Game 2, started but scored only two points in about 18 minutes.

Parsons scored 21 points, and Garcia had 18.

After a big run got Houston within eight in the third quarter, Garcia and Harden made 3-pointers around a dunk by Durant to whittle the lead to 80-76 entering the last quarter.

Durant was scoreless in the third until his dunk with 27 seconds remaining in the quarter.

The Thunder led by 19 points when the Rockets used a 16-5 surge to get to 78-70 with 2 1/2 minutes left in the third. The Rockets harassed Oklahoma City into three turnovers in that stretch, and Durant went cold as he missed four shots.

NOTES: Garcia and McHale received technical fouls in the first quarter. ... Pitching great Roger Clemens and Houston Texans star receiver Andre Johnson attended the game.

Copyright 2013 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited

Notebook: Thunder 104, Rockets 101

THE FACTS: The Oklahoma City Thunder took a rollercoaster ride to victory in their first game without All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook. The Thunder squandered a 26-point second-quarter lead before Kevin Durant received a friendly bounce on a critical 3-point attempt in the final minute of regulation to help lift Oklahoma City to a 104-101 win over the Houston Rockets in Game 3 of their first-round Western Conference playoff series Saturday at Toyota Center.

Durant matched his playoff career high of 41 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for the Thunder, who took a commanding 3-0 lead in the series and will have a chance to complete the sweep Monday in Houston. Serge Ibaka added a double-double of 17 points and 11 boards, seven of which were offensive. Second-year guard Reggie Jackson, making his first career start in place of the sidelined Westbrook, contributed 14 points.

James Harden paced the Rockets with 30 points, eight rebounds and six assists, but he misfired on one-third of his 15 free-throw attempts. Chandler Parsons finished with 21 points on 8-for-12 shooting, seven rebounds and seven boards, while Francisco Garcia exploded for playoff career bests of 18 points, five rebounds and three blocks off the bench.

QUOTABLE: "The Lord was with us. That's all I was thinking. ... I really can't say too much else about that [shot]."-- Kevin Durant on what went through his head when his 3-point attempt dropped in to give his team the lead for good

THE STAT: The club with more postseason experience won the free-throw shooting battle, as the Thunder knocked down 28-for-30 (93.3 percent) attempts from the charity stripe compared to Houston's 17-for-25 (68.0 percent) performance.

TURNING POINT: After trailing by as many as 26 in the first half and 17 at halftime, the Rockets roared back into the contest behind a valiant defensive effort. Houston held Oklahoma City to 20.0 percent (5-for-25) shooting in the third quarter, setting the stage for a thrilling final period. An Ibaka bucket put the Thunder ahead 97-94 with less than two minutes to play in the fourth period, but Harden and Garcia each scored to give the Rockets a 99-97 advantage. After a timeout, Durant launched a 3-point attempt from the top of the key and got the shooter's bounce to hand Oklahoma City a lead it refused to relinquish.

QUOTABLE II: "This is the second game in a row we feel like we should have won. We feel like we should be up two games to one [in this series]."-- Chandler Parsons

HOT: Oklahoma City knocked down five of six attempts from behind the arc in the first quarter, including a pair of treys from a locked-in Durant. The potent 3-point shooting stretched the Rockets' defense and forced them to temporarily abandon the 2-3 zone defense that helped them rally late in Game 2.

NOT: In this series, the Thunder have effectively prevented Houston from finding the touch from the perimeter that helped propel it into the playoffs. Including Saturday's 12-for-37 effort, the Rockets have connected on only 27.8 percent (30-for-108) of their 3-point attempts while falling into a 3-0 deficit.

GOOD MOVE: With Jeremy Lin clearly struggling to play with a bruised chest, coach Kevin McHale replaced the third-year point guard with the veteran wing Garcia early in the third quarter. Garcia's presence created more floor spacing for Houston, which shot 8-for-15 as it closed the third period on a 20-7 run that cut its deficit to 80-76.

BAD MOVE: McHale's small lineups paid dividends in Game 2, helping the Rockets produce better scoring opportunities, but it backfired at the beginning of Game 3. The Thunder kept Houston from jump-staring its transition game by terrorizing the Rockets on the glass in the opening period, recording a 13-2 edge on the glass.

QUOTABLE III: "We focused on a couple of areas where we didn't do well last game. We wanted to make sure that we did a good job rebounding, and we did."-- Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks

NOTABLE: The Thunder announced Saturday afternoon that Westbrook is out for the season after undergoing knee surgery to repair the torn lateral meniscus in his right knee. Westbrook missed a game for the first time in his career, sapping a streak of 439 appearances including the playoffs. ... Lin was unable to battle through his bruised chest injury and did not return to the game after playing the first 4:50 of the second half. ... Durant has netted at least 21 points in 29 consecutive playoff games. Only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Michael Jordan have posted longer streaks of this kind over the last 40 seasons. ... Houston blocked 12 shots, equaling its highest output of the 2012-13 regular season.